Patient Navigation was founded by Harold P. Freeman, M.D. in 1990, when he initiated and developed the first Patient Navigation program in Harlem to reduce disparities in access to diagnosis and treatment of cancer, particularly among poor and uninsured people. In 2007, as a direct result of a $2.5M grant received from the Amgen Foundation, the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention established the Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute (HPFPNI) to support patient navigation training to individuals associated with organizations. The Institute opened its doors to address the growth in patient navigation programs, but also to offer standards and best practices that are customizable to meet each program's needs.

Team Draft will have the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Harold Freeman and discuss the Institute’s program and how the Institute is leading the way in addressing the current needs of the surrounding community. 

The Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute, located in New York City, serves as the gold standard in patient navigation and offers the only certificate of completion program in patient navigation endorsed by Harold P. Freeman, M.D. The Institute's goals are to:

·         Promote standards for patient navigation programs through an emphasis on the Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Model.

·         To help others learn best practices by ensuring that programs adhere to the peer-reviewed, recognized definition and measures for patient navigation set forth by the Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP).

To date, the Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute has taught over 1,000 people the skills of successful patient navigation and has served leading organizations such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Cleveland Clinic, and the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention with training programs aimed at increasing their efficiencies and supporting retention rates of patients via patient navigation.